Shipping company Maersk Line and the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are partnering to measure the environmental benefits of a $125-million upgrade for 12 Maersk container ships. This will involve the installation of high-tech equipment to track vessel emissions and energy efficiency over the next three years, enabling more transparency and ultimately reducing the environmental impact of vessels calling at the San Pedro Bay port complex. . . .

The two ports are contributing a combined $1 million to real-time tracking systems that represent an industry leading application to pinpoint vessel emissions while ships are at sea and at berth. . . .

The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach will split the $1 million cost under their joint Technology Advancement Program (TAP). TAP is a grant program created under the ports’ landmark Clean Air Action Plan to accelerate the evaluation and demonstration of new and emerging clean technologies for reducing and ultimately eliminating harmful emissions from all port-related sources. Ships generate the lion’s share of air pollution associated with port activity.

Under its “radical retrofit” program, Maersk Line upgraded vessels that already plug into shore power at the San Pedro Bay ports. The additional improvements include redesigning the bulbous bow of each vessel, replacing existing propellers with more efficient models, and “derating” the main engines to make them more efficient at lower speeds.

The retrofit program also involved raising the bridge to increase each ship’s capacity from about 9,500 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) to about 11,000 TEUs. This allows Maersk Line to carry more containers per vessel while decreasing their environmental impact per container moved.

The energy efficiency makeover is expected to decrease each ship’s fuel consumption by more than 10%, saving an estimated 10,000 metric tons of fuel on an annual basis. This would reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by an estimated 31,000 tons of carbon dioxide per year and lead to similar reductions of diesel particulate matter (DPM), nitrogen oxides (NOx) and sulfur oxides (SOx). A single ton of CO2 would fill a 1,400-square-foot house.

Since 2007, Maersk Line has reduced GHG emissions associated with its vessel operations by 42% on a per container, per kilometer basis. The Retrofits and TAP demonstration project with the San Pedro Bay ports will help Maersk Line reach its goal of a 60% reduction of CO2 and other pollutants by 2020. . . .

Guy [I have lots of experience designing/selling off-grid AE systems, some using EVs but don't own one. Local trips are by foot, bike and/or rapid transit].

The 'best' is the enemy of 'good enough'.Copper shot, not Silver bullets.

Good news. I ride my bicycle over a bridge near a port, and getting caught in the massive plume from these ships is dreadful, even when they are at idle or slow speeds. I hate the smell of unburned bunker oil in the morning!

The Port of Long Beach has achieved clean air records in its latest study of air pollution emissions, including an 88% reduction in diesel particulate matter. The first phase of the zero-emissions Long Beach Container Terminal opened on Pier E in 2016, helping to drive down the air pollution tallied in the Port’s annual Emissions Inventory, which was completed this week. The Port has been monitoring its progress in air quality improvements since 2005. . . .

Smog-forming nitrogen oxides were down 56%, also a record. Sulfur oxides held steady at 97% lower and greenhouse gases are down 22%, another record.

As part of the first Clean Air Action Plan adopted in 2006, the Port’s efforts to improve air quality have included the Clean Trucks Program; low-sulfur fuel regulations for ships; increased use of shore power for container ships; and the Port’s Green Flag Vessel Speed Reduction Program.

The Port remains focused on continued reductions through increased use of on-dock rail, advanced clean-air technologies, and joint efforts with Port of Los Angeles to finalize the latest update to the Clean Air Action Plan this fall.

With the opening of Long Beach Container Terminal, 11% of the Port’s fleet of cargo-handling equipment is zero-emissions. . . .

Guy [I have lots of experience designing/selling off-grid AE systems, some using EVs but don't own one. Local trips are by foot, bike and/or rapid transit].

The 'best' is the enemy of 'good enough'.Copper shot, not Silver bullets.